Kugel Unraveled

By JOAN NATHAN

Published: September 28, 2005

FOR many American Jews, kugel is the taste of childhood. They want exactly the kind of kugel their mother made, whether it is a weekly Sabbath treat or served only on holidays like Rosh Hashana, which starts on Monday night.

I didn't know until recently, though, that this homey casserole of noodles or potatoes was credited with mystical powers.

Allan Nadler, a professor of religious studies at Drew University, studied references to kugel in Hasidic texts and ate it in Brooklyn and in Jerusalem at about a dozen rebbes' tishes, or tables, where male followers of a Hasidic rabbi gather to eat, sing and study the Torah.

According to Hasidic interpretations of Kabbalah mysticism, he said, kugel has special powers.

''Clearly the spiritual high point of the meal is the offering of the kugel,'' Professor Nadler said. At that moment the rabbi has the power to bestow health and food, and even to help couples conceive.

But despite kugel's deep tradition, it is changing, even in Brooklyn, the center of American kugel cooking.

On a recent afternoon at Hungarian Kosher Catering in Borough Park, at least 18 kinds of kugel were for sale, and customers were discussing them in Yiddish, English and Hungarian. Most American Jews know about noodle (lokshen) and potato kugel. But apple-noodle kugel? Salt and pepper kugel? Broccoli kugel? Modern ''designer'' three-layer kugel with sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower?

''It used to be that it was only potato and noodle, nothing goes without them,'' said Shmelka Friedman, 48, owner of the shop and a follower of the Satmar sect, which came to the United States from Hungary after World War II. His repertory now includes both blueberry and rhubarb kugel.

Shimmy Rosenblum, the executive chef at Gourmet on J in Flatbush, has also noticed the transformation of kugel. ''People tend to be more health conscious, but when they want flavor they'll look aside,'' he said. ''They'll cheat. People come in with questions you'd never ask before. Does it have oil? What kind of oil? Are there any carbohydrates? Any sugar? Now they are suddenly allergic to everything.''

The word kugel comes from the German word for ball. It is traditionally a round, baked sweet or savory pudding or casserole made of noodles or potatoes. Since the first Jews came to the United States it has been a popular mainstay of holiday tables. The first published American recipe for kugel, from Esther Levy's 1871 ''Jewish Cookery Book,'' is a mixture of homemade noodles, raisins and sugar, bound with eggs. Through the years, Madison Avenue had its way with kugel. Boxed noodles replaced homemade noodles, canned pineapple and cranberries replaced raisins, and processed cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese replaced farmer cheese and other European dairy products.

The transformation has been gradual. ''When I came to New York from Vienna in 1940,'' said Erica Jesselson, an Orthodox woman in her 80's living in Riverdale, the Bronx. ''There were no kosher carryouts. All food, except maybe smoked fish that you could get at appetizing stores, were made at home. Now the religious women, like everyone else, work and often go to carryout places. It helps the burden of cooking for such large families.''

Karen Braver runs the Peppermill, next to Hungarian Kosher Catering. The eight-year-old Peppermill is known as the Williams-Sonoma of the ultra-Orthodox community. ''Back in Europe nobody put asparagus, spinach or broccoli in their kugel,'' said Mrs. Braver, a Borough Park native. ''Most people don't have to learn to make potato kugel. They want something more.''

Mrs. Braver invites to her store chefs like Jeffrey Nathan (no relation to me) of Abigael's restaurant in Manhattan, who introduced customers to kosher Japanese panko, which can be used instead of challah crumbs to top savory kugels. ''We show people what is up-to-date,'' said Debbi Braver, Karen Braver's partner and sister-in-law. ''Kugel in the year 2005 often has individual shapes in tiny bundt pans, silicone pans or cookie cutters. It is the same traditional food modernized and updated. People are no longer intimidated by new ingredients.''

Even if customers want more complex recipes, they always ask about ways to perfect the classic versions as well, she said. Kugel is traditionally served with meat meals, which means it is bound with oil and eggs, or sometimes mayonnaise, which like sour cream, according to Karen Braver, adds flavor and creaminess. Nondairy items like soy milk and tofutti cream cheese are also used. Dairy kugels are reserved for the meal following the Yom Kippur fast, usually a dairy meal.

One really delicious kugel is a sweet and peppery version called Yerushalmi, or Jerusalem, kugel. Supposedly this version originated in Jerusalem with followers of the Gaon of Vilna, a Jewish scholar, in the late 18th century. Made with thin noodles, pepper, salt and sugar, it is tricky because it has a caramel base that can stick or burn. Debbi Braver learned a foolproof way to make it over the counter at the Peppermill.